Signed Alex Ross

Cincinnati Reds. Buy or Sell?

Some big-time prospects are competeing for their spots on the major league roster (Joey Votto, Jay Bruce). They signed on Francisco Cordero to close out games, a weak point last year. They have the most underrated ace in the NL in Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo (coming out of a pitching slump he had last year) and not much by way of starting pitching beyond that. Bullpen has always been suspect. Field position looks like this:

C- David Ross
1B- Scott Hatteberg
2B- Brandon Phillips
SS- Alex Gonzalez
3B- Edwin Encarnacion
OF- Adam Dunn
OF- Ryan Freel (maybe Jay Bruce, though)
OF- Ken Griffey Jr.
Bench: Jay Bruce, Joey Votto (unless they decide to keep him in AAA), Norris Hopper, and Javier Valentine (leads team in pinch hitting)...and some others Spring training arrivals.

What your thoughts? I'm a fan, so I'm optimistic this year, but I want to be realistic about what they could do...

I'll be honest, I'm recopying a slightly amended version of what I wrote about the Reds on another question, but I think it needs to be said.

Every single year I am beyond the most optimistic Reds fan in the country. Last year, I was very disappointed with how they started, but clearly bad game management and a bad bullpen was a reason why they did not do well, especially if you look at how they finished. Here's my impression of the 2008 Reds.

First of all their strengths:
Aaron Harang SP1-One of the top 5 starters in the NL
Brandon Phillips 2B-One of the top 4 second baseman in MLB
Francisco Cordero CL-One of the top 5 closers in the NL
Adam Dunn OF-One of the best sluggers and OBP in the NL
Ken Griffey Jr OF-when healthy, great leader, clutch hitter and home run hitter
David Weathers RP-Very strong, consistent reliever
Javier Valentin C-Great pinch hitter and hitting catcher when needed.

Question Marks:
Young Prospects: Joey Votto, Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez, Jay Bruce, Matt Maloney, and/or Johnny Cueto

Inconsistent Players: Bronson Arroyo, Matt Belisle, Alex Gonzalez, Edwin Encarnacion, David Ross

One Year wonders?: Jeremy Affeldt, Jared Burton, Jeff Keppinger, Norris Hopper

Notice, I didn't put down any weaknesses. As far as I can tell, there isn't one. The formula for winning is all here and as can happen with every major league baseball team, if everything works out, Cincinnati not only will have the best team in the NL Central, they'll have one of the best teams in the major leagues. They have a very good Ace and an incredible second starter at times(Arroyo). If Arroyo pitches consistently good as is possible, Bailey pitches as is expected and one of the other four youngsters pitch like they are supposed to be able to (Volquez, Maloney, Belisle, Cueto) and have everything together this year, the Reds could have the best young pitching staff in baseball. However if Bailey and the other two struggle, the Reds, once again will go nowhere. This team will still be able to hit homeruns and have no defense regardless of any of the above question marks. The pitching will be loads better with Affeldt, Weathers, and Cordero anchoring a bullpen that will be 100% better which means that guys that pitched their arms off last year because they had to(Arroyo, Harang) will have better numbers. Barring injury and growth setbacks, I expect Cincinnati to win the NL Central and have one of the best teams in baseball.

Cincinnati seems to be a city of constant fair weather fans who are constantly downplaying their sports organizations. I've watched the good prospects O'Brien drafted and seen the incredible moves that Krivsky has made. If you check out www.cincinnatireds.com or even look at their profile on Yahoo, you see articles that show that many many sports writers outside of Cincinnati thinks that Cincinnati has an incredible arsenal of young talent. Cueto, Bailey, Bruce, and Votto are all ranked in the top 50 prospects in baseball and not a single one of them is over 24. If these youngsters have problems and we have some major injuries, the Reds will finish 5th(Pittsburgh will have last place locked every year) and way below .500 but with all this potential that every other person seems to be able to see, this could be a magical season. This is the season of question marks but if you can't be optimistic then what is the reason to be a fan?

ALEX ROSS